1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pyrophoric devices. More specifically it relates to portable ignition devices in the form of hand held torches. Even more specifically, it relates to an improved clear plastic cigarette lighter case with colored butane or naphtha used both as the combustible agent and the decorative feature. In its greatest specificity, this invention relates to means for coloring the combustible fluid commonly used in these cigarette lighters. Throughout this specification the commonly used term "cigarette lighter" is used to refer to portable pyrophoric devices in accordance with common terminology. The term is in no way intended to limit the potential uses of the device described herein to the lighting of cigarettes. Common commercially available cigarette lighters of this type, although taken for granted by many, are the product of many sophisticated technological advances.
The type of cigarette lighter which this invention improves upon is the commonly available plastic liquid butane or naphtha tank with an attached flint wheel type igniter and manually operated gas release valve. Any application requiring a portable source of concentrated heat or light is capable of being performed by these little cigarette lighters. Although most commonly used as cigarette lighters many craftsman, artisans, and mechanics have discovered a myriad of uses for the inexpensive throw-away pyrophoric torches that are sold by the millions.
Thus it can be seen that the potential fields of use for this invention are myriad and the particular preferred embodiment described herein is in no way meant to limit the use of the invention to the particular field chosen for exposition of the details of the invention.
A comprehensive listing of all the possible fields to which this invention may be applied is limited only by the imagination and is therefore not provided herein. Some of the more obvious applications are mentioned herein in the interest of providing a full and complete disclosure of the unique properties of this previously unknown general purpose article of manufacture. It is to be understood from the outset that the scope of this invention is not limited to these fields or to the specific examples of potential uses presented hereinafter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general the coloring of flammable liquids is old. This has been done for both identification and safety purposes. However, flammable liquids which must be maintained under pressure have not generally been colored in this manner. The pressure vessels in which these pressurized liquids are stored are usually color coded.
Devices for lighting cigarettes which employ a liquid reservoir are old and well known in the art. Many of the earlier forms of these held a reservoir of unpressurized naptha which was employed to wet a wick in contact with the atmosphere for sustaining combustion. Eventually, portable reservoirs containing pressurized liquid butane or naphtha were developed. Butane or naphtha liquid is colorless. Recently, advances in the development of plastics with sufficient tensile strength to withstand internal pressurization have led to the introduction of cheap, attractively colored lighters. In accordance with conventional terminology, the term "lighter" used herein may be taken to mean any portable pyrophoric device. The plastic lighters of today are so inexpensive that they may be sold as throw-away items which are simply discarded when their fuel is spent. However, the colored plastic lighter still suffers from some significant disadvantages.
The first major disadvantage in colored plastic lighters is that the addition of coloring pigment to the plastic weakens the plastic significantly. This weakness must be compensated for by construction of complex internal reinforcement of the pressure chamber to prevent rupture and explosion during normal use. Therefore, the laudible objective of low cost must be traded off for the objective of attractive coloring.
The second major disadvantage of colored plastic lighters is that the pressure reservoir walls, weakened by the color pigmentation, must be made thick to minimize the mechanical stress. Thick colored plastic is opaque. It is not possible to see the amount of fuel remaining in a reservoir with opaque walls. It has not been possible to make a colored plastic of this thickness and achieve transparency or even translucency.
The following known prior art has been directed to providing transparent walls on lighter reservoirs for easily viewing remaining fuel and/or adding some form of coloring to the device. As will be seen, the simplicity and effectiveness of my invention is not rivaled in the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,986,027, issued to Lockwood on May 30, 1961, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,580,499, issued to Adams on Jan. 1, 1952, show standard unpressurized naptha lighters with transparent reservoir bodies. The concept of coloring the lighter is not contemplated. Contrast this with my invention where a transparent plastic reservoir is filled with colored butane or naphtha under pressure.
United Kingdom Patent No. UK 593,146, issued to Rose on Oct. 9, 1947, shows an unpressurized naptha lighter with a transparent fluid reservoir. The internal wicking mechanism consists of a colored cotton yarn to impart color to the device. By contrast, the device of the instant invention uses pressurized butane or naphtha which itself is colored to impart color to the device which is dynamic in nature.
Japanese Patent Nos. 56-68272 and 57-204726, issued to Iwabori November 13 and December 12, respectively, teach coloring butane or naphtha within transparent plastic lighters with oil dyes dissolved in aromatic compounds such as benzene. These oil dyes are known to significantly degrade the flammability of the butane or naphtha. By contrast, the device of the instant invention uses special compounds designed especially to enhance the flammability of the butane or naphtha and also easily provide a host of coloring possibilities.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.